1849 $5 Mormon Five Dollar XF 40 PCGS. K-2, R.5. In 1830, a
young man by the name of Joseph Smith had a profound vision that
formed the basis of a new branch of Christianity. After publishing
The Book of Mormon, Smith and a number of converts left
their native state of New York and headed west. By 1836, they had
established their new faith in Kirtland, Ohio. Taking advantage of
the expanding economy of the mid-1830s, the Mormons formed the
Kirtland Safety Society Bank. As they lacked supporting specie,
however, the Mormons were unable to obtain a charter and, in 1837,
changed their practice to a "Stock Industrial Company" and renamed
their concern the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company.
With this shaky beginning, the Mormons proceeded to issue large
quantities of banknotes. The Panic of '37, however, sent the
Mormons' bills streaming back to Kirtland and, without suitable
reserves of the specie and/or hard money, the enterprise folded in
economic ruin. To escape the authorities, the entire congregation
uprooted and moved to Quincy, Illinois. The troubles of the
congregation, however, were far from over. Smith's 1843
announcement that his church would accept plural marriages outraged
the citizens of Illinois and resulted in the lynching of both Smith
and his brother Hyrum. In early 1846, Smith's successor as
congregational leader, Brigham Young, led his people out of
Illinois and, on July 24, 1847, into the Valley of the Great Salt
Lake in what would become the state of Utah. The stage was set for
the huge influence that the Mormon Church would exert on the
history of the American frontier.
This is a lightly circulated representative of the Mormon's first
half eagle issue. Although moderately abraded, the surfaces still
display an attractive brown-gold appearance. The devices are quite
well defined within the confines of this grade level. While we do
not know for certain how many of these pieces were issued, Breen
estimates the total to be in the neighborhood of 5,300 coins.
Regardless of Breen's accuracy, there is little denying the rarity
of this early Gold Rush era half eagle. Listed on page 289 of the
1999 Guide Book.From the Eugene Peterson Collection. (PCGS# 10262)